Right across the nation men are beginning to hear about Blue Ireland - the country's first indigenous porn magazine. JOE has a chat with Andrew Booth, one of the co-founders.

JOE: When did the magazine officially launch?

Andrew Booth: Blue Ireland launched at the end of May.

JOE: How is it going so far, what’s circulation like?

AB: Circulation is encouraging, with a lot of copies sold. Interestingly, most copies sold through shops are in the capital with most of the postal orders coming from the countryside. Circulation aside, we’ve been really happy with the response from the general public. There has been so much support for the magazine. Obviously there has been some backlash, but there has been a lot less than what we’d thought.

JOE: Where are the main stores Blue Ireland can be bought?

AB: It’s available nationally, through EM News Distribution and they manage which individual stores carry the magazine. If we’re not in your local store, we’d encourage you to ask for it.

JOE: Will there be an online version?

AB: We’re currently investigating what the best way to do this is. We are really keen to get the magazine up online, but we’re obviously worried about piracy etc.

JOE: Is it envisaged to sell outside of Ireland?

AB: We’ve sold quite a few copies via the website, with roughly 20% of those coming from USA. This is something we’d be keen to expand. After all, there are 30 million people in USA who have Irish heritage. It’s a massive market.

JOE: The name ‘Blue Ireland’, it’s old school isn’t it?

AB: Is it possible to be old school when you’re the first? We wanted a name that would tell people what the product was, without being overly in your face.

JOE: Do you only shoot Irish girls?

AB: We only shoot girls who live in Ireland. All models (and photographers and everyone else who works on the magazine) have to be registered to work here in Ireland. Ireland is now a multicultural country and the better for it, the magazine reflects that, although most of the models are Irish.

JOE: Do you think, given the current economic climate, that more Irish models are interested in getting their kit completely off?

AB: I’m sure economics does come into it, but all of the models I’ve talked to are doing it for a number of reasons. For some, it’s part of their career: they want to be models. Others have more exhibitionist urges and this is a great way to fulfill them. For others it is a more personal thing – one of the models in the second issue posed by way of celebrating over coming breast cancer.

JOE: How much interest is there currently from models applying?

AB: There’s always a steady stream. We run adverts in a few places and people just get in touch.

JOE: Is the money good for the models?

AB: We obviously can’t say how much we pay, but the girls are paid.

JOE: Why is the minimum age at 20 for models to apply?

AB: We felt it was a good age. Legally, it is 18, but we felt the two years helped. We’re not interested in getting people to make decisions that they may later regret, and we felt that 18 was perhaps too young.

JOE: Is it all professional models or would you think of doing a high-street honeys page?

AB: There is a section for readers to send in their own photos, and although some of our models are full time professionals, so far we’ve had students, a graphic designers, and housewives.

JOE: In terms of editorial content, does the magazine deal with sex related issues? Mens issues? Or is it all nude girls?

AB: There’s a wide range of content, with stories, articles, health and sex advice, bad jokes and readers letters and pictures. The content is designed to be accessible to men and women, and we’ve had several letters from couples who read the magazine together.

JOE: Do you think there’s room in the market for a hardcore porn film industry?

AB: I’m not sure. There were a few films made a few years ago by an English production company, and they haven’t made any more, so I’m not convinced there was a big enough market.

JOE: Anything else you would like to add…

AB: We’re currently running a competition to find the Blue Ireland Guy. We’re looking for someone to make history and be the first man to be featured in the magazine in a series of posed photographs with one of our models! To be in with a chance you just have to tag yourself (or a friend) as Blue Ireland on Facebook. Although of course you have to add us first.

William Nestor